Bright Eyes
by Seperatedlife
Summary: The Konoha eleven find out about a dead green eyed boy who isn't dead yet. What's his relationship with Kakashi and how does Naruto know him? My first fanfic so summary sucks. Will include abilities and possibly names from Avatar but no actual characters.
1. Prelude

This is my first fanfiction so it will proberly suck, try not to be to harsh! Still, would really apprieciate it if you reveiwed and maybe gave me some pointers for improvement.

Summary: Naruto upsets kakashi, so the other sensei's tell him and the rookie nine why. With this new knowledge they they realise just how bad kakashi's life was. But then they gain some infomation and with a describtion of someone which seems very familiar.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the last airbender

* * *

"_Mother" The shout was heard across the clearing "mother look" sitting on the ground, talking, a young woman heard the shout and, when she looked up, couldn't help but chuckle at her young son's antics. _

_Returning to the conversation with the other parents the young woman felt herself relax in a way she hadn't done for days, only vaguely paying attention to the three year old on the other side of the clearing playing with the other three._

_She briefly left the conversation to check on her 1 year old daughter and, seeing that she was still asleep near her legs, turned her attention to the sky. It was a lovely day; the sky was clear with only a few clouds, a gentle breeze made the grass ripple while the sun bathed the clearing in a soft golden light. Turning her face into the warmth of the sun she could almost forget her worries and fears._

_When her best friend had told her about this little outing her first reaction had been to refuse, but after weeks of constant nagging she had been worn down and agreed. Across from her sat the parents of the twins, she had never talked to them much and couldn't remember their names, while the twins themselves where currently playing with her son._

_Looking over at the children she noticed her best friend's daughter, Yukiko, and her own son huddled together and appearing to be in deep conversation (The sight was pretty funny considering they were both three), but she was unsurprised, the two of them were like brother and sister._

_Yukiko's father, and her friends husband, Yoshi, was sitting to her. 'It's ironic' she thought to herself 'that she spent so much time convincing me to come but hasn't come herself' for indeed her best friend was missing, although it wasn't really her fault. She'd been called away on a last minute mission, much like her own husband had just yesterday, which is why he also hadn't attended._

_"It's good to see relax a bit Kohaku" The woman turned her head to see Yoshi talking to her. "You've been acting strange since that incident two weeks ago" and with those words the moment was ruined, whatever delusion of peace she had had just moments ago was shattered as she was reminded of the harsh reality of life._

_'Yes' she thought 'I should have know they'd notice', Of course they'd be concerned, The incident 2 weeks ago had left many worried and confused, but none more so then herself, because she was the only one who knew what happened. The others weren't as worried now, after all nothing else had happened, but she couldn't shake the feeling of dread that flooded her every time she thought about it._

_She should of told someone, __**should **__tell someone the truth, but she couldn't, she was afraid of how they would react, which was stupid, she knew they'd be fine with it, but her past teachings made her wary of telling people._

_Forcing a smile on her face she turned to Yoshi "Yes, I think I really needed this, I feel so much better out here" She said in, what she hoped was a cheerful voice. Nodding Yoshi returned to the earlier conversation, having long ago lost the trail of what they were talking about she, once again, turned to the laughing children._

_'He looks almost exactly like his farther' she thought while staring at her son. As she watched he looked up, saw her staring at him and promptly broke out into a grin, she tried to smile back, she really did but, upon meeting his eyes she felt that familiar feeling of dread. Yes, he looked just like his father; many people noticed that the only thing he inherited, appetence whys, from her were his eyes._

_His eyes which were a deep rich shade of emerald green just like her own. Until two weeks ago that is, two weeks ago when her oldest child and only son fell to the floor screaming and clutching his eyes, two weeks ago since he was taken to the hospital unconscious, two weeks ago since he opened his eyes and everyone saw the change._

_As the pain in her chest rose and as she stared into those eyes, Those deep, rich emerald eyes with small, equally rich golden flecks within them, she couldn't help but think, two weeks since my past caught up with me in a way I never imagined._

_It was right there and then that she decided she would tell someone, whatever the consequences. However she would never have that chance because just as she finished that thought there was a large explosion and the clearing was swarmed with people. The last thing she heard before falling into unconsciousness was the terrified scream of her son echoing across the clearing. "Mother!"_

* * *

_So what do you think. I know its a bit confusing and I'd really like to hear your ideas on it_


	2. A mystery

_Different part of the world:_

_"hello" - talking_

_'hello' - thinking_

With naruto:

"hello" - talking

_hello_ - thinking

Summary: Naruto is annoyed with Kakashi, so the other sensei's tell him and the rookie nine about his past. With this new knowledge they realise just how bad Kakashi's life was. But then they gain some information and with it a description of someone which seems very familiar.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the last air bender or anything else which I may intentionally or unintentionally use ideas from.

* * *

_She was crying again, she couldn't help it. She didn't normally cry, she'd pretty much stopped by the time she was four, after being here for just one year, but now she was eight, she shouldn't be crying at all._

_Yet here she was, sitting behind a rock so the others wouldn't see or hear her, crying her eyes out._

_The pain was almost unbearable, not for the first time she wondered whether it was worth it, whether she should just end it now and be free of this hell hole._

_She sensed people coming but didn't move, she knew who they were, Flick and bright eyes, her two best friends. She felt them sit down on either side of her, their presence giving her comfort._

_Looking to her right she saw Bright eyes; he was staring at the sky with a small frown on his face, what he was thinking nobody knows._

_Bright eyes always made her feel better, Flick did as well but not as much. She was five when she met Flick, She'd already been here for two years, but Bright eyes was different, she'd known him all her life._

_Seeing him reminded her of better times, times before they were taken, when they had a family and a home. When they didn't need to take every option available to make things seem normal and keep up their hopes, like childish nicknames. __Back when he was called Kaisui and she was called Yukiko._

_As if reading her mind he turned to look at her and gave a small nostalgic smile, And looking straight into his emerald eyes with golden flecks she felt hope again, no matter how small it was still there. 'Yes', she thought 'Bright eyes always makes her feel better'._

* * *

With a bang the entrance to the Hokage tower was thrown open. Those who were watching would have seen the hero of the village storm out and down the road, his blond hair being blown out behind him with the speed of his steps.

Naruto was pissed, the war with akatsuki was over, it had ended about a month ago, there had been casualties all around and the leaf was currently rebuilding. Despite popular belief, Naruto wasn't an idiot; he knew he should be grateful; after all it could be a lot worse.

Lee and Choji were a bit worse for wear and probably wouldn't be let out of the hospital for a week or so but other than that team guy and the rookie nine where all fine. Gaara, temari and kankuro were all well and Suna was really coming along with its repairs.

Hell even Kakashi and Gai sensei were doing ok and Kurenai sensei seemed pretty happy with her baby Michi. He'd even managed to bring Sasuke back, true he still hates and wants revenge on the village so he'd been forced to wear chakra suppressing seals which also seal his bloodline, and he had an entire patrol of anbu watching him twenty four seven to stop him from escaping, again.

It was kind of annoying that Sasuke refused to see him just because he was angry about being brought back, but that wasn't why Naruto was pissed. No, Naruto was pissed because Tsunade, in all her wisdom, had decided he needed a baby sitter.

Sighing the seventeen year old flopped down onto the nearest bench to think about things, He supposed he was being a little harsh on Tsunade, he didn't really need to yell at her like that, after all she did have a point.

Her reasoning had been that there was a chance that some akatsuki members were still alive and could attack him if he left the village, the results being that he could do as many D ranked missions inside the village as he wanted, but if he took a higher rank and left the village than Kakashi had to come with him.

Naruto didn't have anything against Kakashi personally but the idea that he needed a baby sitter (even if that's not the reason) was insulting, and if that wasn't bad enough, for some unknown reason Kakashi couldn't leave today, or even talk to him today apparently, since he wasn't at the Hokage's office.

Deciding to ask Kakashi about it tomorrow Naruto stood up and started walking in the direction of the hospital, He'd told Lee he would visit today and hopefully by now Choji would of woken up as well.

Although Naruto has a feeling that Choji had been awake for a while now and was only pretending in order to avoid Lee's speeches about the springtime of youth, There wasn't much space in the hospital so Choji and Lee had to share.

Opening the door to their room Naruto was surprised to see not only Choji and Lee but also the entire rookie nine, Gai's team, Gai, Kurenai and Kurenai's son Michi.

"Hey guys what's up" Naruto said while walking into the room, "Oh, hey Naruto" said Sakura, "It seems we all had the same idea at the same time", "huh, how troublesome" said Neji and Shikamaru respectively.

"U-u-um N-Naruto wh-whats wrong" Naruto looked to the other side of the room to see who had spoken and there in the corner was Hinata. "Oh, hey Hinata, I didn't see you there" Naruto replied, The moment he said that Hinata turned bright red "oh, t-t-t-th-thats ok N-N-Na-Naruto" _huh, why is she going all red again, oh well, at least she hasn't fainted._

Noticing the others curious looks Naruto told them about the missions and how Kakashi is supposedly busy, "Hmm" Naruto looked at Sakura, she seemed deep in thought "You know, I've never paid attention to it before, but now that I think about it Kakashi sensei always goes missing on this day, every year"

"Really I wonder why" _clearly Ino's decided to add her two cents _"Yosh, it is a mystery we can figure out, how youthful" Exclaimed Lee, somehow managing to look energetic despite being wrapped in bandages.

"Troublesome" _Gee's Shikamaru is that all you know how to say, "Hey Kurenai sensei what's wrong" _Hearing Kiba's words Naruto turned to look at Kurenai _she does look kinda put out _"Oh nothing it's just - I know why Kakashi doesn't like this day and I really don't think you should look in to it"

"Yes, it is a most unyouthful story" " But Gai sensei if we don't know about it how will we be able to help your eternal rival".

Naruto turned to Tenten in horror _Oh hell no, please tell me she's not speaking like them now _luckily his fears were unfounded as he saw her wink and whisper to the others "If you say it the right way Gai sensei will tell you anything". Naruto turned back to Kurenai and Gai just in time to see them share an uneasy look. _Wow, if even Gai sensei looks reluctant after what Tenten said then it must be bad._

* * *

So what do you think, it's not really that good but I think I'm getting better. Please reveiw.


	3. Nickname's, stories and suprises

_Different part of the world:_

_"hello" - talking_

_'hello' - thinking_

_Flashback:_

_'hello' - talking_

_hello - thinking_

With naruto:

"hello" - talking

_hello_ – thinking

Summary: Naruto is annoyed with Kakashi, so the other sensei's tell him and the rookie nine about his past. With this new knowledge they realise just how bad Kakashi's life was. But then they gain some information and with it a description of someone which seems very familiar.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the last air bender or anything else which I may intentionally or unintentionally use ideas from.

Important please read: I feel like I need to clear this up, but when I say this is a crossover with Avatar the last air bender, I mean some of the abilities which will be used later on and a few of the names, but none of the actual characters.

* * *

_He felt useless; it was stupid because, despite being only eight years old, he was one of the best fighters in the mad house. He could fight off anyone who tried to steal their food or sleeping area, and had done so many times._

_He was fast so he could grab or scavenge food when they needed it. If there was a large enough break in the guards he would sneak over to the forest section where he could catch a rabbit or two for them to eat._

_He was pretty good at first aid, and could bandage up his friends if it was necessary. Hell, he even went out to help the others who lived in the mad house whenever he could._

_True Astrid was better at fighting and first aid, but he was way better than her when it came to hunting. It was also true that Bright eyes was better than both of them at everything, but that didn't matter, he honestly didn't care about that._

_After his parents had died he hadn't know what to do, he was five at the time and had only spent a year in the mad house, so he wasn't in the best position._

_Than Bright eyes had found him and helped him, in a place like this his friendly face was strange but welcome. Bright eyes had introduced him to Astrid and the two of them had helped him survive in the mad house until he could survive on his own._

_He would never forget what they'd done for him, which is why it didn't bother him that they could do things better than him. Deep down he still thought of them as his rescuers, as the ones who knew what to do and would help him learn._

_It seemed oddly right that they were better than him. It had been three years since then, and he gladly called Bright eyes and Astrid friends._

_It had taken awhile to earn their trust, after all, no matter how friendly they were, the mad house was still a place of betrayal, it would have been stupid if they'd instantly trusted him. After he'd gained their trust they quickly became his friends._

_They'd even given him a nickname, Flick, because of how quick he was and his reluctance to stay in one place for very long. At first he didn't understand the point of a nickname, everybody else knew and called them by their real names, Kaisui and Yukiko._

_He'd preferred his real name, Kenji, but Bright eyes and Astrid had kept calling him Flick. He had asked them why every chance he got, but they would just smile or shake their head and tell him he had to figure it out._

_At the time that had just made him angrier but, slowly, he came to realise the reasons behind it. The first reason being hope. Stuck in the mad house, the three of them had been forced to grow up quicker than they should have._

_Nicknames were silly things that you make up to have fun; therefore giving someone a nickname was childish. It proved that they could still be children if they ever got out of here, and that gave them hope._

_The other reason was more about identity. Every single person in the mad house had been taken against their will. They'd been dumped in here and forced to fend for themselves until the one in charge decided to use them for something, normally fighting._

_In the mad house you have to share everything, nowhere is private and nothing is yours, but the nicknames are. The nicknames belong to the three of them and no one can take them away._

_'It's like our own method of fighting back'._

_Bright eyes and Astrid were still closer to each other than they were to him, but he'd expected that. They'd known each other all their lives, even before they were brought here; it's natural that they prefer each other._

_He admits that he has favourites as well; he's always been closer to Bright eyes than Astrid. After all Bright eyes was the one who found him, gave him his nickname and trusted him enough to tell him his story._

_Bright eyes was sought of like the unofficial leader of the group, though he'd deny it if the subject ever came up. Still, that didn't mean he cared any less about Astrid, and that was why he felt useless._

_Astrid hardly ever cried, which is why it's usually a big deal if she does, but when he'd seen her crying behind a rock the other day, instead of going to her like the friend he's supposed to be, he'd ran off to get Bright eyes._

_He'd let Bright eyes deal with it, because he was too scared to go to her alone. He was a rubbish friend._

_"How're you doing Flick" said a voice to his left._

_Startled he spun to face the voice and stood in a defensive stance, not that it was necessary._

_In the mad house when someone snuck up behind you it was usually a bad thing, so like most other people in the mad house Flick had developed a trigger response to such a thing happening._

_Turn to face them, get in a defensive stance, punch whoever it is in the face. The result being that the attacker ends up on the floor with a broken nose._

_Of course on the off chance you're not being attacked this response can be rather embarrassing; however, since trigger responses are relatively hard to stop no one ever blames them._

_Flick knew who this 'attacker' was and knew that he wasn't in danger. The fact that they'd used his nickname meant it could only be one of two people, and the low musical voice narrowed it down to one._

_Still, despite knowing there was no threat, Flick found his arm moving forwards of its own free will. Looking in the direction of his punch Flick knew exactly what he'd see._

_Sure enough, after gracefully landing, much to Flick's annoyance, from the back flip he'd used to avoid Flick's punch, there stood a rather amused looking Bright eyes._

_"I was only asking"_

_The gold flecks in his eyes almost seemed to glow with his suppressed laughter._

_"Damm it Bright eyes, don't do that" Flick yelled in anger, then, looking at his hand, he murmured_

_"I should have known you'd be able to dodge"_

_That apparently was enough to make Bright eyes lose control, and he promptly burst out laughing, the sound calming Flick down against his wishes._

_"Seriously though, how are you"_

_Flick looked at Bright eyes, he was standing straight, somehow, despite being severely undernourished and wearing whatever rags he could find to keep warm, he still looked strong. __He had a straight face, he wasn't joking._

_"I'm fine Bright eyes, whaddya worrying about me for?"_

_Bright eyes raised an eyebrow, obviously unconvinced, and waited for him to speak again._

_'He doesn't believe me, I should of known better, he always seems to know how I'm feeling, how everyone's feeling actually, it's those damm colours'._

_Sighing Bright eyes spoke again_

_"Astrid's asleep now so I was just going to see if there was any food left, You did a great job by the way, Astrid asked me, well told me really, to thank you for helping her out, even if you didn't say anything you were still there for her, and that's all that really matters"_

_Stunned all Flick could do was stare at his retreating back as he went to look for food. He'd done it again, with just a few words Bright eyes had got rid of his worries and made him feel better, without sounding patronising._

_Just like he always does, although how he does it was still a mystery. Stopping halfway to the most concentrated group of people, Bright eyes turned, looked him straight in the eye and yelled_

_"are you coming or what?"_

_Before turning again and carrying on. Smiling Flick climbed down from the rock he was on and rushed to catch up with his friend._

* * *

They'd finally managed to convince Kurenai and Gai to tell them what was wrong with Kakashi. Naruto wasn't sure how but the eleven of them had known exactly what to say and when to say it.

Somehow, in a tremendous display of teamwork, putting together an argument, that would make the most experienced diplomats in the world fall to their knees in awe.

Even despite their argument it had taken two hours and Lee's exclamation of,

"It does not matter if they do not tell as, for it is just as youthful to find the answers we are looking for on our own as it is to be told"

before the two sensei's had agreed. Now, sitting on Choji's hospital bed next to Shino and Shikamaru, Naruto was excitedly waiting for Kurenai to start.

"Alright guys, if I'm going to tell you this then you can't interrupt and you've got to promise you won't bother Kakashi with questions, ok?"

There was a chorus of agreement from the twelve, with Naruto's

"Don't worry about it Kurenai sensei, we won't, believe it!" and Lee's

"I would never do something so unyouthful" being the loudest.

"Ok, well Kakashi hasn't always been as lonely as he is now you know. He had a family, his wife, Kohaku, was a good friend of mine. He also had a three year old son named Kaisui"

At this Naruto see's Kurenai smile, as if remembering a happy memory, but he wasn't really paying attention.

_Kaisui, Kaisui... where have I heard that name before._

"And a one year old daughter named Aelita. They were always smiling, no matter where they went and Kakashi was the happiest I've ever seen him. Kohaku was a ninja as well, so everyone assumed Kai and Aelita would take after their parents."

_Wait, Kai, I've defiantly heard that name somewhere_

_A_s if of their own accord, memories started to surface in Naruto's head, there were only voices and nothing else, but one seemed to stick out.

* * *

Flashback

'_Hey, I'm not a brat Double'_

_A_ child's voice, no older than five, it seemed both high and low pitched at the same time, it was almost musical.

_'Yeah, well my names not Double either, but you keep calling me that, so why can't I call you brat, huh, __**Kaisui**__'_

Naruto's voice, high pitched suggesting he was younger when he was talking, maybe ten or eleven.

_'because, Double is a friendly nickname which I think suits you, and no I'm not going to tell you why, so don't ask'_

The last part of the sentence was hard, as if the speaker were warning him about something dangerous.

_'and brat is a mean name which you say to hurt someone's feelings'_

The voice is back to its friendly happy tone, Naruto prefers it like this_._

_'And my mummy says that's a bad thing'_

He's starting to hear other things now, noises that were muffled before start to become clearer.

_I can hear steps so we must be walking somewhere. There's a lot of rustling, which sounds like the wind blowing through trees, and the normal sounds of the village are far away._

_We're walking in the forest? I don't remember ever leaving the village before that mission in wave, what were we doing in the forest?_

_'And don't call me Kaisui either, call me Kai'_

The voice, _Kaisui?,_ finishes and Naruto once again hears his younger voice.

_'Well why should I __**Kaisui**__'_

The reply sounded calm and completely unaffected by his voices teasing, it also shocked Naruto so much that he almost lost the memory.

_'Because all my friends call me Kai'_

Apparently his voice hadn't expected it either because his next word was so quiet that Naruto could barely hear it, even if he was the one talking.

_'Friend' 'Yes Double, friend, you are my friend after all'_

_'Oh man' _the voice sounds worried about something. _'I'm gonna be late, and my mum is gonna kill me, I gotta go Double, see ya'_

Naruto hears the sound of feet quickly running and getting quieter, but his voice/memory doesn't seem to notice. _'I have a friend'_.

End flashback

* * *

"Yosh, the son of my eternal rival did indeed show great potential, you are most correct in that statement Kurenai, Kai was most youthful!"

Naruto was dragged out of his memories by Gai's yelling.

_Oh man, I got so caught up I wasn't paying attention; I hope I didn't miss too much_

"Excuse me Kurenai sensei, I know you told as not to interrupt, but I have a question."

_Yes, thank you Sakura, maybe now I'll find out what I missed_

"You said that Kaisui and Yukiko were like brother and sister, and that they both showed great potential for being a ninja, despite their age, but you didn't really say who Yukiko was, I was hoping you could clear that up"

_Hmm, Yukiko sounds familiar too, though not as much as Kai did_

"Oh, sorry Sakura, I forgot you guys didn't know, Yukiko is Anko's daughter"

"What!"

Naruto quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, remembering his promise not to interrupt. Looking around he was pleased to see that he wasn't the only one to have yelled; In fact, only Shino, Shikamaru and Hinata had kept quiet.

Raising her eyebrow slightly at the outburst, Kurenai continued as if nothing had happened.

"Yukiko was the daughter of Anko and Yoshi, a civilian from the village; Anko was one of Kohaku's closest friends here in the village, so Yukiko and Kai practically grew up with each other_"_

_I can't believe it, the crazy proctor lady has a kid_

"Anyway, were was I, oh yeah, there was a sort of family picnic one day, Anko had a mission but Yukiko still wanted to go, so Yoshi took her on his own.

Since Yukiko and Kai were so close Anko convinced Kakashi and Kohaku to go as well, but Kakashi was called away on a last minute mission and couldn't go."

Kurenai's voice becomes sad and faraway, looking at her face Naruto realises that she's close to tears.

"The picnic was in the forest, far enough away from the village that no one could see or hear them, it was a time of peace and they had no reason to be wary of attack. No one knows what happened in that clearing.

After they'd been gone for several hours search parties were sent to look for them, the clearing was scattered with kunai and everybody was gone. There were no body's or footprints, there was no trace of them anywhere, but on the ground in the clearing there was – "

Kurenai stops talking and takes a deep breath, Naruto can almost see her pulling herself together " – on the ground there was blood, a lot of it, Anko and Kakashi have never been the same since."

They were all quiet for a minute, thinking about what they'd learnt, but something was bothering Naruto.

_That voice, that voice and that name, did I know Kai when he was still alive? I can't of, the first time I met Kakashi sensei was when I became a genin, maybe if I see a picture I'll remember._

"Hey Kurenai sensei do you have a picture of them that I can see, or something"

Kurenai looked like she was going to answer, but before she could Gai cut her off.

"Yosh, I have a most youthful picture of myself, along with my eternal rival's family, and Anko's as well, I will run and get it for you to see, if I am not back within two minutes I will run one hundred laps around Konoha!"

Then he jumped out of the window and ran off, not noticing that all but one of the group he'd just left were sweat dropping.

"Yosh, what a most youthful thing to do, Gai sensei really is amazing!"

Luckily, Gai really is quite fast and was soon back, with the photo in hand. Naruto waited impatiently while the photo was passed around, snatching it out of Shikamaru's hand when he gave it to him.

Looking at the picture Naruto couldn't help but smile; there on the left hand side was Gai, looking as happy as ever. On Gai's right stood Kakashi and on his left stood a man who Naruto had never seen before

_That must be Yoshi, The crazy proctor lady's husband_

Yoshi looked to be average height with short bronze coloured hair, he had light blue coloured eyes. Both Kakashi and Yoshi looked uncomfortable, which was understandable since the Gai in the picture had his arms over both their shoulders.

To the right of the picture stood two women, one Naruto easily recognised as Anko but the other he again, hadn't seen before.

_That must be Kohaku, she's beautiful._

Kohaku had long, black hair with one, blood red stripe down the middle. Something like that was very unusual, but for some reason Naruto got the feeling that it was her natural hair colour.

Her skin was slightly tanned and, as unusual as her hair; she had rich emerald eyes that seemed to go on forever. Both Anko and Kohaku were obviously laughing at their respective husband's predicament.

In the middle of the picture stood two children. The girl on the left _that must be Yukiko _looked like a mixture of her two parents, having inherited her father's light blue eyes and her mother's purplish coloured hair.

She was frowning at something the boy next to her had said. Naruto's eyes flickered to the boy, he felt the smile slip from his face and his heart stop.

_Impossible _the boy _Kai, it's definitely Kai _looked just like a tiny Kakashi. He had the same, stand up like it's been electrocuted, silver hair, and, although Kakashi was wearing his mask like he always does and Kaisui wasn't, you could tell that their face's were the same shape.

He had a grin stretching from one side of his face to the other and the only thing about him which didn't resemble Kakashi were his eyes. They were the same rich shade of emerald as his mother's.

His eyes were what Naruto focused on now as he felt a flood of emotion rise within him. Naruto defiantly recognises him. _Kai._

* * *

So this chapter was way longer then my other two and I'm not really sure if that's a good or bad thing, would really appreciate your opinions on that or anything else.

The bit with Flick was longer then I'd expected but it was the only way I could think of to include some of his history before everyone found out about Kaisui and Yukiko.

I also tried to clear up the meaning of the nicknames a little since I don't think I explained it very well in the last chapter. The bits at the beginning were meant to slowly give you more details about Kaisui, the prelude mentions his eyes, the first chapter has his name, nickname and, if you think about it, his age while this one had his history, personality and a bit about where he's living, the mad house as well as his actual appearance and identity, but I'm not really sure it worked how I wanted it.

I thought it would be boring if the only relation Kaisui had with Konoha was through Kakashi which is why I added the bit with naruto, and may add a connection with Sasuke later on.


	4. Masks and memories

_With Bright eyes, Astrid and Flick:_

_"hello" - talking_

_'hello' - thinking_

Flashback:

'hello' - talking

_hello_ - thinking

With naruto:

"hello" - talking

_hello_ – thinking

Summary: Naruto is annoyed with Kakashi, so the other senseis tell him and the rookie nine about his past. With this new knowledge they realise just how bad Kakashi's life was. But then they gain some information and with it a description of someone which seems very familiar.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the last air bender or anything else which I may intentionally or unintentionally use ideas from.

* * *

_'Whips, burns, beatings, starvings, isolation and cutting' Just some of the ways pain is caused in the mad house. 'Of course there are the less used methods as well'_

_When the fights start the guards that watch everyone in the mad house are perfectly fine, the fights give them entertainment and, if they're lucky, a new or brave person will try to escape, giving them extra entertainment. __'Although it's only lucky for the guards, the guy who tries to escape usually regrets it in the morning, if their alive'_

_However, at the moment there were no fights and, without the pressure of the fights, no escape attempts. Meaning the guards had to find other ways of entertaining themselves, usually by hurting the prisoners._

_Bright eyes wasn't an idiot, he knew that the guards focused on him, Astrid and Flick more than anyone else and on him more than the others. If he was honest with himself, it was his own fault._

_As the best fighter he was considered useful, therefore, he was in no danger of being killed unless he went too far. This gave him some freedom that others didn't have, freedom he was all too ready to exploit._

_In a show of rebellion, which wouldn't get him killed, he would be rude to the guards, sneak out for extra food, steal and hide weapons when they weren't looking and, occasionally, completely ignore something they'd told him to do. The mad house had many people of all ages, including children like himself who were often targeted because they were the weakest._

_On top of everything else Bright eyes would often distract or stop guards from hurting other children, giving them time to escape. This normally pissed the guards of enough that they would gladly kill him if they could._

_Unfortunately, as long as he didn't die, and could still fight if it was around that time, the guards could do anything they wanted to him._

_Which was why, despite already spending five years in the mad house, plenty of new people being around and him being extremely hard to find, if he had warning they were looking for him, the guards still focused on him more than anyone else. That didn't mean he gave them what they wanted though._

_The guards took pleasure in hurting people, even more so if the person cried out or begged for them to stop. So, even while they were hitting him, Bright eyes took great pleasure in seeing their disappointed or angry faces when he remained silent. __To him it was well worth the extra pain caused as they tried to get him to cry._

_Since they were among the top ten fighters, Astrid and Flick also had a certain degree of immunity, though not as sure tight as himself. Although they had to be more careful, they also annoyed the guards and remained silent throughout beatings._

_Of course they couldn't remain silent the whole time. Just yesterday Astrid had started crying after one of her sessions. When he'd asked her what was wrong she had told him that she was raped, he felt anger bubbling up inside him at the thought._

_Most people in the mad house got raped at some point in time and, considering the extra attention she got from being one of the best fighters, Astrid was lucky to have lasted that long. It still didn't make him feel better; it defiantly didn't make Astrid feel better._

_Astrid told him that she had screamed and begged to try and get the guy to stop, but she hadn't cried. She hadn't cried at all until she was back in the main area and behind a rock and that made Bright eyes proud._

_The matter was only made worse by the fact that the guy in question was __Yutaka. Yutaka, along with one other, ran the mad house and reported directly to the person in charge. Yutaka had a reputation among most of the females in the mad house for being the roughest and overall worst of them all._

_Yutaka's reputation was almost as bad as Kaname's, the other person who ran the mad house, and the woman in front of him now. The only person who could get him to scream._

_"Hello Kaisui how are you today" _

_f Yutaka's reputation was bad than Kaname's was terrible._

_"Ah, little Kai doesn't want to talk today, oh well, hehe, he'll be screaming by the time I'm through with him, hehe"_

_While most of the females in the mad house would say Yutaka was the worst, all of the males and the remainder of the females would gladly choose him over Kaname._

_"hehe, Now, maybe little Kai would like to say hello to the whip today, hehe"_

_Standing still and giving no indication of his feelings, Bright eyes gazed coolly at Kaname, who was walking around holding a fierce looking whip, and talking to herself._

_"no no no, whips don't like being used first, hehe, they prefer it later, there picky like that, hehe"_

_This was the normal routine whenever Bright eyes saw Kaname. Kaname had sickly green hair that was cropped short and the exact same colour green eyes. Her skin was an unhealthily pale colour, caused by spending all her time indoors with the lights of, and she had a purplish coloured scar running from just below her ear to the edge of her mouth, giving her a sunken look._

_"bye bye whippy, hehe, we'll play together later, hehe"_

_Kaname was also completely mad, which was the main reason people were more scared of her than Yutaka. She had an unhealthy obsession with creating new methods of torture._

_"I know, we'll start with one of my new inventions today, hehe, Kai will love that, hehe"_

_Bright eyes braced himself, this was going to hurt._

_Bright eyes stood looking at the door, hesitant to open it. He estimated he'd been with Kaname for at least three hours, possibly more, and he was aching all over._

_His back was bent from the pain and he was shaking. Taking a deep breath Bright eyes composed himself. Bright eyes knew that Astrid and Flick thought of him as a sought of leader, an idea that was only encouraged by Falcon, Shadow and Karen._

_He knew that they looked to him for strength, and not only them. Younger children that lived in the mad house, people who he'd rescued from the guards, they saw him never feeling down and always pushing through._

_They expected him to be strong and, in Astrid, Flick, Falcon, Shadow and Karen's mind, assume something is wrong if he isn't. Of course his friends knew how he really felt, they knew he was only pretending, but they still found it easier to hope for a better life, when he acted like nothing was wrong with the world._

_He wanted them to be as happy as possible. Pushing the door open Bright eyes saw the wide open area outside, fenced of on all sides, including above, and covered with rocks of all sizes._

_The people inside were scattered about, as always, but turned their heads to see who had arrived. Strolling in as if he didn't have a care in the world, Bright eyes gave anyone who looked at him a small, warm smile, his back straight and his posture making it look like he was in absolutely no pain at all._

_The people watching felt their spirits rise just being in the presence of this light hearted child who, somehow, always made them feel better._

_On the other side of the clearing, on the rock they long ago claimed as theirs, stood Astrid and Flick. The only ones who knew, that the Bright eyes walking through the crowd towards them, was no more than a mask._

* * *

It was the day after the Kyuubi festival and the villagers were happy, they'd had fun the night before and many had gotten drunk during the festivities. None of the villagers seemed to remember that the night before was also the eleventh birthday of one Naruto Uzumaki.

The villagers that did remember would merely scoff at the idea of caring, while others, in a state of drunkenness had spent the night before vandalising his apartment.

If anyone had mentioned to the boys classmates what the day was they would have stared at the person incredulously before completely dismissing the idea that the class prankster had such a cool birthday.

However, just because the village forgot did not mean Naruto himself did as well. Depressed from his graffiti covered house and his customarily bad birthday Naruto had wondered around Konoha until eventually finding a place to stop.

The place he chose was an old park in the furthest corner of Konoha, partially hidden in the shade of an ancient oak tree. When you fist walked into the park you would see a sandbox to your right filled with laughing children, mostly under the age of six, looking forward you would see a rusted slide attached to a grassy hill.

Last but not least, to the left you would see an old swing consisting of a rotted plank of wood connected to the branches of the oak tree by a frayed piece of string.

Walking over to the swing Naruto sat down and turned to face the rest of the park, he had a very good view. Sighing Naruto prepared to spend the day being ignored by the other kids and glared at by their parents.

It had been four hours since Naruto first arrived at the park and it was nearing noon, Naruto knew he needed to leave soon but didn't want to, it was so peaceful here. Naruto had found himself watching the children in the sandbox while they played, and, deciding he would stay a little longer, turned his head back there now.

Unlike before, however, this time when he looked at the playing children one of the children stared back. Surprised, Naruto looked more closely at the child, he looked about two years old and his face suggested he would be handsome when he grew up.

Perhaps the most striking features of the boy were his silver hair that stuck up in the air as though he had been electrocuted, though more elegantly, and his striking, emerald eyes that seemed to pierce Naruto's very soul.

The boy had a frown on his face and his head was slightly tilted, as if he was confused. Without breaking eye contact the young boy stood, walked directly towards Naruto and stopped just in front of the swing.

Blinking in surprise Naruto could only stare at the boy. Than the boy spoke, his voice was soft, musical, and he still seemed slightly confused about something. 'Hi'.

_Um, okay, what's with the midget _'hi'

'My names Kaisui, what's yours?'

_Why is this kid talking to me_ '...Naruto' _and where the hell are his parents _'Naruto Uzumaki'

The boy, _Kaisui,_ continued to stare at him as if trying to figure out a puzzle

'Why are staring at me you brat, and where are your parents' 'Kai'

'what?' The boy looks as though he's deciding something important 'Call me Kai, my parents aren't here'

_This kid is weird _'well, were are they then'

'They kept saying I was a big boy and could do stuff on my own and they were really proud of me, so I asked if I could stay at the park on my own and they said that as long as they walked me here and I stayed here for the two hours they agreed to, without leaving the park, then they were fine with it'

Kaisui was bouncing up and down and he seemed genuinely excited about his newfound freedom _well, he is only a kid_

'What are you doing here anyway, you look really sad' _This kid sure is nosey _'Nothing'

'Oooooooook, well your obviously lying, oh well, let's play!' and with that, the small boy grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him over to the sand box, were he dropped down to play, leaving Naruto standing awkwardly near the edge.

_He's sure got a lot of energy_ Standing near the sand box, Naruto saw many of the parents glaring at him. One by one they came to get their children and left the park, soon him and Kaisui were the only ones left.

Depressed Naruto turned to leave, but stopped when he felt a tug on his pant leg, looking down he saw Kaisui staring up at him. 'Don't pay any attention to them, come play!' with that said Kaisui turned back to the sand and, smiling a real smile for the first time in his life, Naruto joined him.

* * *

"Naruto... Naruto!" broken out of his trance Naruto lifted his eyes from the green ones in the picture and turned to see who was yelling, only to be met with Sakura's concerned gaze.

"What's up with you Naruto, you completely zoned out"

"Hehe, sorry Sakura, I was just so surprised to see the kid, he looks just like Kakashi sensei!"

Looking around the hospital room, Naruto noticed everyone looking at him strangely _this isn't good; I'm too distracted to deal with this right now_

"anyway, I really gotta go, see ya!" Naruto then jumped out the window and sped of down the street

_not really that discreet, but at the moment I just want to be alone_

Opening the door to his apartment, Naruto walked straight into his bedroom and pulled a box from under his bed. Sitting on the edge of his bed the seventeen year old stared at the innocent looking box on his lap.

For five years this box had been under his bed, he never had any idea what was inside and, for some reason he couldn't explain, he'd never been able to open it or throw it away. Now, with his memories returning, Naruto opened the lid.

There wasn't much inside, his old black wrist bands and goggles, a battered brown notebook filled with childish drawings and a picture.

A picture of him laughing and smiling, real not fake, next to a sliver haired three year old, who seemed like the happiest person in the world. Staring at the picture, Naruto let himself get lost in his memories.

* * *

'Hey Double!' 'My names Naruto, you brat!' 'My names Kai, not brat!'

Upon hearing Kaisui's voice Naruto couldn't help but smile. It had been a month since he'd first met the energetic boy, every day since then he'd come back to the park and sat on the swing, and every day since then Kaisui would come bouncing in and the two would spend the two hours until Kaisui's mum came to get him playing, and occasionally fighting about names.

To Naruto that didn't matter, the past month had been the best in his life.

'Whatever Double, I've got great news!' 'Yeah right brat, you're probably just lying'

He was happy and didn't have to pretend or wear a mask.

'No way! I convinced my parents to let me stay out longer, so we get to play for three hours now' 'Awesome! You actually did something right brat'

Not that Kaisui would believe his mask anyway, he always seemed to know how he felt.

'I got you a present to' 'a present? Why?' 'Well you said you were upset last month because no one remembered your birthday, so I got you a present!'

Taking his hands out from behind his back, Kaisui showed Naruto a small wrapped parcel held together by sellotape. Naruto was dumbstruck. Other than a few academy scrolls from Iruka and The Third this was the first present he'd ever gotten.

Taking the parcel from Kaisui, Naruto slowly opened it. Inside was a pair of goggles with dark lenses and a green band. Naruto loved them. Picking them up Naruto put them on his head and grinned at Kaisui, a real one, not fake.

Naruto turned and prepared to go into the sandbox but was stopped by Kai's voice. 'Actually Naruto, I was thinking, since my mum won't pick me up for three hours, and since playing in the park gets boring after awhile, maybe we should sneak out'

Surprised, Naruto looked at Kaisui, seeing that he was serious Naruto grinned, not the easy grin from earlier, but the grin of a true prankster. Kaisui had potential.

* * *

'Hey brat, how did you find this place?' Naruto whispered to the small boy crawling next to him. It had been seven months since Naruto and Kaisui had first left the park.

During the first two months Naruto saw that, despite his age, Kaisui was great at avoiding people who would recognise him and tell his parents he was wondering around alone, as well as managing to avoid capture by a crazy guy wearing a green spandex suit.

So after the first two months of just sneaking around the village, Naruto had introduced Kaisui to the wonderful world of pranking. Predictably, to Naruto at least since he'd noticed the early signs, the boy had taken to it like a charm.

Naruto and Kaisui would sometimes spend the entire three hours they had coming up with new prank ideas, or recycling old ones. After the first month, which Naruto spent teaching Kaisui the basics of pranking, Kaisui had started to take an active part in the pranks, sometimes standing on the Hokage monument and telling Naruto where the ninja patrols were via earpiece, sometimes creating small distractions so Naruto could do the prank or escape, and quite often running around alongside Naruto and helping to create havoc.

Naruto couldn't help but feel proud, although he'd never admit it, that despite taking such an active role, Kaisui's involvement had yet to be discovered; in fact no one even knew that Kaisui and he were friends.

Naruto and Kaisui had wanted to play a prank on the Anbu HQ for awhile now, but it was never possible. Until Kaisui figured out a secret way in that is. Which is why they were here now, crawling through a dusty old air vent.

'It's Kai; remember I told you about my godmother?' Kaisui replied in an equally quiet voice.

'You mean the crazy one?' 'Yeah, that one, well remember I told you that my mum was best friends with her and said I had to go round her house whenever possible?'

'Yeah, you told me you didn't really mind 'cause your best friend Yukiko lived there'

'Well last time I went to her house Yukiko wasn't there, 'cause she was at another friends sleepover, so I was bored and kept annoying my godmother, so then she said she had to burn something in the HQ, but she had to sneak in 'cause last time she came here they kicked her out, and that I was allowed to come if I stopped bothering her'

Naruto stared at Kaisui incredulously 'Wait a minute, you're telling me that your godmother, who's supposed to be a mature adult, snuck into the Anbu HQ to burn something and took a two year old along with her, just so you would stop annoying her?'

'Yep' '...She really is crazy'

Just then Naruto saw the opening into an abandoned room and, using hand signals, pointed it out to Kaisui. The two of them were silent as the exited the vent, they both knew what to do and wouldn't need to talk at all while they were here. This would be a day to remember.

* * *

'Hey, I'm not a brat Double' It had been just over a year since him and Kaisui first met and Naruto's academy exam was in a month's time. He and Kaisui were walking in the forest outside the village, the secret way out being shown to Kaisui by his godmother.

Normally Naruto and Kaisui would be plotting some form of prank, but the last few days Kaisui had been acting unusual, and preferred to stay outside of the village. Something had happened to Kaisui, the three year old had been taken to hospital two days ago and when he'd returned his Emerald eyes had had flecks of gold in them.

Apparently no one could find the cause and Kaisui said the only reason he wanted to leave the village was because everyone was watching him, in case something else happened. Yet Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that Kaisui was hiding something.

'Yeah, well my names not Double either, but you keep calling me that, so why can't I call you brat, huh, **Kaisui**' Naruto used his familiar retort, which he knew of by heart

'because, Double is a friendly nickname which I think suits you-and no I'm not going to tell you why, so don't ask-and brat is a mean name which you say to hurt someone's feelings and my mummy says that's a bad thing' and there was Kaisui's familiar retort 'And don't call me Kaisui either, call me Kai'

After Kaisui had finished his predictable sentence, Naruto continued their usual argument 'Well why should I **Kaisui**' However instead of his usual reply Kaisui said something so surprising that he stopped walking upon hearing it

'Because all my friends call me Kai' He couldn't believe it 'Friend' He whispered 'Yes Double, friend, you are my friend after all'

Just then Kaisui looked up at the sky, judging the time by the position of the sun. 'Oh man, I'm gonna be late, and my mum is gonna kill me, I gotta go Double, see ya'

Naruto heard Kaisui running away but didn't pay attention 'I have a friend' All he could do was stand there and grin.

* * *

Naruto was sitting on the swing waiting for Kai; the three year old was already four hours late, but Naruto didn't leave. He just sat, staring at the entrance and waiting for Kai to come bouncing in, all the while trying to ignore the growing dread in his heart.

A similar thing had happened the day before, and the day before that. Both times Naruto had waited until dark before accepting that Kai wasn't going to come and heading home. This time Naruto only waited until dusk before leaving. Walking home Naruto didn't even feel the cold air, he was already hurting far worse.

When Naruto got home he stood staring at his goggles before, in a fit of anger, throwing them into a box, along with some wrist bands, a notebook Kai had given him and a picture of the two of them together, then threw the box under his bed, hoping to never see it again.

The thing he always dreaded had happened, Kai had abandoned him, decided he didn't want to be his friend anymore.

_If he was even serious about being friends in the first place, he was probably just making fun of me, just like everyone else _For what other reason could Kai have for abandoning him?

Crying Naruto fell onto his bed, wishing above all else that the pain in his heart would go away, that he could forget he'd even met Kai in the first place.

Little did he know that his wish would come true because, just as someone whose mind can't deal with witnessing a traumatic event, Naruto's mind couldn't deal with the pain of being abandoned by his one and only friend.

When Naruto awoke in the morning the only thing in Naruto's mind that had anything to do with Kaisui was a box under his bed that Naruto could never get rid of, and an old park in the furthest corner of Konoha, partially hidden by the shade an oak tree, consisting of a slide, a swing and a sandbox.

A park that Naruto felt an uncontrollable urge to go to whenever he was lonely.

* * *

Okay, I think this chapter was way too long but I just couldn't find a place to stop. The flash back thing was really hard to think of so probably sucks. Please review and tell me what you think.

Okay, just for clarification:

Bright eyes – Kaisui

Astrid – Yukiko

Flick – Kenji

Double – Naruto


	5. A familiy where none should exist

_With Bright eyes, Astrid and Flick:_

_"hello" - talking_

_'hello' - thinking_

Flashback:

'hello' - talking

_hello_ - thinking

With naruto:

"hello" - talking

_hello_ – thinking

Summary: Naruto is annoyed with Kakashi, so the other senseis tell him and the rookie nine about his past. With this new knowledge they realise just how bad Kakashi's life was. But then they gain some information and with it a description of someone which seems very familiar.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the last air bender or anything else which I may intentionally or unintentionally use ideas from.

* * *

_In the mad house there were many different categories someone could be placed in; in fact most people would fit into three or four categories if someone bothered to check them all._

_Three of these categories were the highly sensitive emotional person, caused by living in such a hopeless place and still believing so thoroughly in the chance of rescue that the slightest thing could trigger an emotion, about one quarter of the inhabitants of the mad house went into that category._

_The emotionless zombie, caused from wanting to hide from the emotional pain so much that they lock all their emotions away, another quarter went into that category. And the neutral zone in between, were people remain calm and look at things objectively, neither hoping for the impossible nor denying all hope completely. The remainder went into that category._

_Flick considered himself, Bright eyes and Astrid to be firmly neutral, yet at the moment he couldn't help but be excited. To his left stood Astrid, to an outside observer she would seem as emotionless as he seemed at the moment, completely unmoved by what was about to happen. Although he could see the signs well enough, Astrid was excited as well._

_To his right was Falcon. Falcon was a wolf; he had a thick coat of coarse fur which shone in the moonlight, and dark green eyes._

_Next to the rocky area that they lived in was a forest. The forest was fenced of as well so you couldn't escape the mad house through it, but the guards sometimes put people in there to see how they dealt with the wild animals._

_Pushed up against the fence that separated the rocky area and the forest area was a large boulder. Unknown to the guards was that behind the boulder was a small hole in the fence which, if there wasn't enough food, he, Bright eyes or Astrid would occasionally go through to hunt._

_When Flick had first joined Astrid and Bright eyes, Bright eyes had gone to the forest area to hunt for food. He had been worried by how long it took Bright eyes to return and had asked him about it when he got back._

_Flick had been surprised to learn that Bright eyes could understand both wolves and foxes; he had been even more surprised when Bright eyes revelled that he could speak like a wolf, although he had no idea how. Flick had been sceptical at first but hearing Bright eyes howl or growl in different ways had convinced him._

_Being able to speak like a wolf meant that the wolves, and foxes as well since they had some ancient connection with wolves, could understand Bright eyes. This meant that whenever Bright eyes went into the forest area he would stop to talk with them, and took longer to return then others._

_T__wo years ago both Flick and Astrid had been surprised when Bright eyes returned without food, even more so when he had stopped them from looking at what he was carrying. Later that night Bright eyes explained that there had been a flood in the forest area, that he had heard a wolf crying and gone to investigate._

_Bright eyes had found that an entire pack had been drowned except for one small cub that couldn't even see yet. Bright eyes had gone on to explain how he was going to look after the cub and that, because the cub was still at the age where it's parents were the only outside contact it received, Astrid and himself weren't allowed to see it until Bright eyes said so._

_When Falcon had been the right age Bright eyes had introduced him to Astrid and himself. The two of them had waited, much like they did now, for Bright eyes and Falcon to appear._

_A similar thing had happened a month ago, except this time it was two fox cubs that Bright eyes brought back and the two cub's family had been killed by the guards._

_The two fox cubs had been the same age as Falcon when Bright eyes had found him, so again Astrid and Flick had been forced to wait before meeting them. The difference being that this time Falcon was waiting with them._

_Bright eyes had named the two foxes Shadow and Karen; Flick had asked if they had any distinguishing features for him to tell which was which, but Bright eyes had told him that it would be obvious._

_Flick heard a sound and looked up, there was Bright eyes, this was it, he would finally meet Shadow and Karen. Stepping forward Bright eyes put two small shapes on the floor before stepping back again._

_Looking at the foxes Flick finally realised what Bright eyes meant by their identities being obvious. The one on the right had silvery grey fur, much like Falcon, which would make it easy to hide._

_That one had to be Shadow. Shadow's eyes were a deep purple colour. The one on the left, which was Karen since the other one was definitely Shadow, had the same purple eyes._

_Her fur was a deep, blood red colour, which was just as unusual as Shadow since foxes were normally a rusty red colour to help them hide. Just as Bright eyes had told him, and just as when he first met Falcon, he stared into both Shadow and Karen's eyes._

_This was a clear challenge in pack terminology. Both Shadow and Karen broke eye contact quickly, with the same thing happening between them, Astrid and Falcon._

_The three of them did this to establish their dominance over the two cubs. They had a clear order of dominance. According to Falcon, or Bright eyes' translation of Falcon, Bright eyes was the pack leader, he protected the pack, looked after the cubs and defended the territory._

_Astrid was the high female, probably because she and Karen were the only females and she was definitely stronger. Falcon had said a lot about the high female, that was for sure, but the most Bright eyes would tell them was that she was supposed to be the strongest female in the pack._

_Whenever Flick asked Bright eyes for more information he would avoid the question and seemed embarrassed, even more so when Astrid asked._

_Flick and Falcon were hunter males; they fought alongside the pack leader and hunted more than the others. Shadow and Karen were cubs so they didn't really do anything except play around, but when they were older they would become a hunter male and hunter female._

_They were a pack, a family and to Flick that was all that mattered._

* * *

Naruto and Kakashi were on their way back to Konoha and Naruto felt himself moving faster than usual. Strange that before he was willing to do anything for a harder mission, but now that he had his memories back he just wanted to finish and get away from Kakashi.

Kakashi wasn't acting different, he was his usual self, but Naruto had felt uncomfortable for the entire trip. Luckily, they were nearly at the gates, so he would be able to leave soon.

"What's the rush, Naruto" _Damn, does he have to start a conversation? Now!_

"Nothing Kakashi sensei, just eager to be home is all" "Oh"

_He doesn't believe me, what should I do. _They carried on in silence for a few minutes before Kakashi stopped running. Surprised, Naruto went to stand next to him. "What's wrong Kakashi Sensei?"

"Kurenai told be about the conversation between her and the eleven of you, as well as your reaction to the picture"

_Crap_ "She did?"

"Yes Naruto, your reaction to the picture made me think that you had really forgotten about Kai"

"Yeah well, it wasn-wait what!"

"Naruto. When you knew Kai he was two–three years old, did you really think we would let him go to the park unsupervised?"

"Well... now that you mention it, it does sound kinda stupid, so that means you knew we were friends all along huh?"

"Well, we knew you were friends and we watched you playing in the park, but the two of you always managed to avoid us when you left the park.

Although, considering the sudden increase of pranks you were doing at that time, I have a pretty good idea of what the two of you did."

_Guess it wasn't as secret as we thought afterall_ "If you knew this whole time, then why didn't you say something earlier"

"Well you never mentioned it, so I assumed you didn't want to talk about it. However, if I'm right, if seeing that picture really did jog your memory, then that assumption was wrong."

_Might as well tell him_ "Yeah, your right Kakashi sensei, I really did forget, I guess my mind just couldn't deal with it"

"Hmm, That makes sense I suppose, but Naruto, you're not really the kind of person who would deal with a death by forgetting about it."

"N-n-no I jus-just" _Come on, I've got to calm down_

Taking a deep breath Naruto continued his sentence. "At the time I didn't know Kai was dead, and he never told me where he lived, so I couldn't go talk to him, and, what with my past and everything, I assumed that... Well I thought that..."

Sighing, Naruto looked to the ground, he couldn't finish that sentence.

"You thought that Kai had abandoned you, that he wasn't your friend anymore, that he never had been" Hearing Kakashi finish the sentence for him made the pain come back, he had abandoned his friend, he had assumed the worst of Kai.

Ashamed, all he could do was nod, his eyes glued to the ground. "There's nothing wrong with that Naruto, with your past it's perfectly reasonable."

Naruto lifted his head so fast, he almost got whiplash, his eyes filled with hope "Really?" he whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

"Really Naruto" Kakashi rested his hand on Naruto's shoulder in a comforting gesture "Kai wouldn't off blamed you." _Thank you, Kakashi sensei_

"Anyway, we should get moving, we're nearly at the village" "Hai, Kakashi sensei."

* * *

Kakashi and Naruto made it back to the village with time to spare and, deciding to get it over with, headed to the Hokage's office so they could deliver the mission report.

Naruto followed Kakashi into the office, only to stop when he saw who was inside. To the left of the room were Gai and Kurenai, both looked confused and interested, as well as the crazy proctor lady Anko, who just looked bored.

They weren't what caused Naruto to stop though, the person who caused him to stop was standing in the middle of the room, next to Tsunade. "Hey Gaara, whaddya doing here."

"I am fulfilling the treaty between our nations." "Uh... what?"

"The treaty between our nations states that, if Suna captures a suspicious character, we are to check and see if he is wanted for questioning by Konoha. If he is then Suna is obligated to transfer custody to Konoha, and vice versa. Last week one of the houses in Suna collapsed, an unidentified male was pulled out of the rubble; his description was the same as that of a suspect from Konoha's records, apparently he ran away when the Anbu tried to talk to him. The case was old and didn't require much attention; however it gave me an excuse to travel here so I could discuss certain matters with Lady Tsunade."

When Gaara had finished, Kakashi spoke up "I apologise Lady Tsunade, we will leave you to your business."

"Actually Kakashi, I think it best if you stay, we've been waiting for you." "Waiting for me? Why?"

"That's what I'd like to know" Looking towards the voice, Naruto saw Anko standing up. "First she summoned us three here –" At this Anko gestures to herself, Gai and Kurenai. "- saying that it was urgent, and then she doesn't tell us anything except that we have to wait for you!"

"I have my reasons Anko, please sit down" Grumbling, Anko did as she was told. "The reason I called you here was because I knew you would want to hear this man's interrogation" "Yeah right" Glaring at Anko but otherwise ignoring the interruption, Tsunade continued. "The reason Anbu had wanted to talk to this man so long ago was because they were on the lookout for anything unusual, and the reason Anbu were being so vigilant that day was because" Here Tsunade looks directly at Kakashi and Anko. "It was the day after your families were murdered, that man might have information on it."

* * *

This chapter was shorter then the others (thankfully). Please reveiw and tell me what you think.

Bright eyes - Kaisui

Astrid - Yukiko

Flick - Kenji

Ok, I have this eleven year old freind who wrote some short thing about a unicorn. Anyways, I promised to put it here for people to read if they want to, so:

The Magical Unicorn

The magical unicorn was hungry so he went to an orchid and ate an apple. But the apple was poisened and made the unicorn die. but there was no room in heaven so the magical unicorn became a ghost. The end.

My freind only really write this for a laugh so you can critisize her all you want, but try not to be to harsh.


	6. Closer then you think

_With Bright eyes, Astrid and Flick:_

_"**hello" **__– wolf language_

_"hello" - talking_

_'hello' - thinking_

Flashback:

'hello' - talking

_hello_ - thinking

With naruto:

"hello" - talking

_hello_ – thinking

Summary: Naruto is annoyed with Kakashi, so the other senseis tell him and the rookie nine about his past. With this new knowledge they realise just how bad Kakashi's life was. But then they gain some information and with it a description of someone which seems very familiar.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the last air bender or anything else which I may intentionally or unintentionally use ideas from.

* * *

_Looking down, he couldn't help but smile. He'd only just introduced the others to Shadow and Karen, but Astrid and Flick where spending as much time with them as possible. He wasn't surprised really, the same thing had happened with Falcon._

_At the moment he was sitting on the largest rock, in the furthest corner of the rocky area. It was right next to the fence. Below him where Astrid, Flick, Shadow and Karen, they were play fighting. From where he was sitting he had a great view of them, and the others clearly knew he was watching them. Astrid and Flick didn't mind though. After all, he couldn't help it, and the same thing had happened when they first met Falcon._

_When he'd found Falcon and decided to raise him he had gone to the forest and talked to the local wolf pack. The wolves had told him what Falcon would need to learn if he was going to become a proper wolf. This meant that he was well equipped when the time came to teach Falcon pack behaviours, or how to hunt._

_He'd also asked the local foxes for tips when he found Shadow and Karen, one of the things they'd told him were the same as the wolves. The most dangerous part of a cub's life was when they first met the pack that was when they made their first impressions._

_Depending on the rest of the packs first impressions the cub's could be seen as normal cub's and treated as such, or they could be seen as strong with lots of potential, guarantying them a high position of dominance within the pack. Similarly the pack could see them as weak, causing them trouble within the pack and, on occasion, being killed by the rest of the pack._

_Astrid and Flick were humans and didn't have the instinct to kill the weak, and yet Bright eyes had watched them carefully for a few months after introducing them to Falcon. They had understood then, after all the conversations he'd been having with the wolves his instincts had increased slightly and they're warnings hadn't helped, and they understood now._

_In fact the need to protect Shadow and Karen was stronger because looking after both of them had meant spending even less time with humans, and there was always a chance that Falcons instincts would flare up._

_**"Earth child" **__The low growl came from his right. Unlike Flick, he could always tell when someone was near and never overreacted if someone came up behind him. This was a good thing, because if he did then Falcon would be dead._

_Turning slightly, but not taking his eyes of the others, he returned the greeting. __**"Falcon"**_

_He'd always found it harder to speak wolf then to understand it, and not because of the growling. In fact he found the growling easier than human speech, but the wolves' language wasn't just noises._

_It had everything to do with the way they move, putting their tail between their legs meant that they were scared but doing that and going low to the ground meant that they were being submissive, that you were in charge. As easy as growling was, he didn't have the right body to speak it properly._

_Yet, despite the inconvenience, he'd always managed to get his point across; he'd even managed to teach Falcon how to understand humans. That seemed to have helped him a lot, especially with Astrid and Flick. Still, he definitely preferred to talk to Falcon in wolf speak._

_**"You have done well Earth child, the young ones hunt safe" **__wolf speak was so much easier then the human language. __**"...Your instincts accept them?"**_

_Falcon sat next to him, his thick fur lending him warmth, and stared at the two playing foxes below. Bright eyes felt his heart rate quicken as Falcon stared, the tension was almost palpable._

_**"They hunt safe, they protect the pack, the pack is stronger with them"**__ At those words Bright eyes felt himself relax for the first time in the last month, Shadow and Karen were safe._

_**"Thank you, Falcon, you don't know how much that means to me" **__Falcon remained still for a minute before standing, walking behind him and lying down. Bright eyes smiled before, without even thinking about it, he leaned back and rested his head on Falcon's side._

_Then, as he had done many times in the past and hoped to continue doing in the future, he allowed Falcon to wrap his tail around him protectively, and fell asleep. Just before slipping away he heard Falcon quietly growl._

_**"You raised me from a cub and yet are still a cub yourself. You two legged age so slowly. Sleep now young cub, and, for a short time, be free of the weight you carry yet are not ready for"**_

* * *

Naruto was glad to be here. After Tsunade had told the others that the man could be connected to Kai, and judging by his reaction Gaara was very surprised, she had told them that he was being held in a cell at the Anbu headquarters.

Ibiki had been preparing the man, scaring the shit out of him, but waited for them to arrive before he began questioning.

Now Naruto, Gaara, Tsunade, Anko, Gai, Kurenai and Kakashi were all standing behind a one-way mirror, looking at the man on the other side. He was tied to a chair and looked absolutely terrified, although he was hiding it extremely well, but otherwise normal. He had plain brown hair and eyes with an average face that would easily fade from memory.

"Ok, so who are you?" Naruto jolted, Ibiki must have started, his cool emotionless voice made him seem a lot scarier then when he'd taken his chuunin exam.

"Don't care, t'won't help you anyway" The man's voice was gravely, like stones being crunched together.

"Very well then, what were you doing in Suna?"

"lookin'"

"Looking for what?"

"people"

"Who were you looking for? And why?"

"oh, no one in particular, the mad house ain't that picky, not like the others"

"What is the mad house?, and what do you mean by others?" The man looked at Ibiki as though he was an idiot, but he answered anyway.

"The other fight bases, of course, the mad house is one of 'em"

"Fight bases?"

"I'm not surprised you don't know, the bosses keep it real quiet an all. Every year, at a secret location, fights are held. There are fourteen bosses in total; each one owns a different fight base, a fight base is where all the people are kept till the next years fights. The people in one bosses fight base will fight the people in another bosses fight base, and the bosses get money from the audience who bet on the winner."

"You said you were in Suna looking for people. People who wanted to join?" The man snorted at this.

"hell no! The fights are to the death and the conditions in fight bases are shit, no one comes willingly" The man rolled his eyes when he said this, as if it were obvious.

"So you were in Suna looking for someone to kidnap?"

"Yeah, most fight bases are real picky, they only want the strong ones, but the mad house ain't like that, the boss don't care who you bring in, long as you get someone."

"And why is that?"

"He thinks everyone has a use, even if they can't fight, the old or injured can be killed in front of the others, stop's 'em fighting back or somethin', an the young ones hav ta fight to survive every day, so they learn ta fight fast an all, means they fight better when they older, we's got plenty proof a that."

"Really, what proof?"

"Three little midgets, eight years I think, doesn' matter, what matters is one of them is the best fighter in the mad house, an' the other two are among the top ten, real close to, like proper pals." This was horrible, how could anyone do this.

"Have you ever kidnapped people from Suna before?"

"Yeah"

"Have you ever kidnapped people from Konoha?"

"Well, others hav, but I only been here once, my first time, didn' do any fightin, but I watched, learned."

"What happened to the people you took from Konoha?"

"Your lucky day huh? Normally don' pay 'tention once they're in, but I always pay 'tention to my first batch. Les see, this couple, we killed them straight 'way, used the blood ta make ya think they were dead, an' their two brats were worthless, only lasted a month. An' then sum guy with bronze hair, died after a year."

Naruto couldn't believe it; the guy was talking about Yoshi but had no idea what effect he was having on Anko.

"A little brat to, younger than the others with silver hair, she actually lasted four years, only cus' the others protected her though."

Silver hair, that must be Kai's sister, Aelita.

"An' then there was this fine bitch, an' I mean hot, put up a fight though, an' not jus' when her life was in danger, if ya know what I mean." The man winked at Ibiki and smiled a feral looking grin.

Naruto felt himself tense, he knew exactly what that guy meant, and it made him sick to even think about. In front of him Kakashi tightened his fists in anger.

"There were others, two three year old children, what happened to them?"

This was it, he'd finally know how Kai had died

"I already did"

"You have? When?"

"Those three midgets, the ones who were good fighters, two of 'em is the one's ya talkin' 'bout." With those words Naruto felt his life get turned upside down.

It was like being in a washing machine, going round and round but never stopping. In his head Naruto saw a whirl of images, himself feeling sad and sitting on a swing, him and Kaisui playing in the sand, Kaisui arriving late one day and complaining about a crazy godmother, Himself throwing a box under his bed in rage, Kakashi telling him that Kai would forgive him. And, finally, the man's last sentence, being repeated again and again in his head.

He was in a daze and couldn't focus on anything, yet he faintly heard, as if through water, Anko's shocked voice "They're alive" While in front of him Kakashi stood stone still, as if he'd been hit by lightning.

* * *

_Somewhere near the border of the land of fire, in a large fenced of area of private land, a little boy, who grew up to quickly, was shocked out of sleep by the unmistakable, unexplainable, feeling that something was coming. Next to him a small whine was heard. __**"I know Falcon" **__Bright eyes looked up to the sky where stars could clearly be seen through the criss-crossed fencing. __**"I know... I feel it too"**_

* * *

So I know that this chapter was shorter then some of my others but I honestly couldn't think of anything to write. I also know that the multiple nicknames is confusing (I definitely find it confusing) so adding more was probably a bad idea but I thought a wolf probably wouldn't understand human names and would come up with it's own, so if you need help (Although Kaisui's wolf name is the only one I've mentioned so far)

High female – Yukiko/Astrid – I mentioned in an earlier chapter that she was the 'high female' in order of pack dominance

Swift foot – Kenji/Flick – I mentioned in an earlier chapter that his speed helped him scavenge food before others get it

Earth child – Kaisui/Bright eyes – You will find out later

My friend wrote another thing. Same as before, it's just a laugh so say what you want, but not too harsh please.

The magical unicorn 2

The haunted magical unicorn ghost went to scare a kid but the kid shot him with a rifle gun and he died this time there was room in heaven. The end.


	7. The plea

_With Bright eyes, Astrid and Flick:_

_"**hello" **__– wolf language_

_"hello" - talking_

_'hello' - thinking_

Flashback:

'hello' - talking

_hello_ - thinking

With naruto:

"hello" - talking

_hello_ – thinking

Summary: Naruto is annoyed with Kakashi, so the other senseis tell him and the rookie nine about his past. With this new knowledge they realise just how bad Kakashi's life was. But then they gain some information and with it a description of someone which seems very familiar.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Avatar the last air bender or anything else which I may intentionally or unintentionally use ideas from.

* * *

'_This is bad' was the only thought going through Astrid's mind at this moment. Running in a zigzag pattern in order to avoid the hail of items, most of which were sharp, that the guards were throwing at her, Astrid couldn't help but feel scared._

_Not that she regretted anything. Karen and Shadow had been curious enough to take a few steps outside of the area where they slept._

_When Bright eyes and Astrid had first come to the mad house their parents had specifically chosen that area because it was surrounded by large rocks and the guards couldn't see in. It was because of this that Bright eyes was able to look after Falcon until he could look after himself and leave the closed in area._

_Foxes, apparently, were far more curious and the two cubs proved this by leaving the area when they were told not to. Bright eyes and Flick had gone off to find food, with Bright eyes showing an enormous amount of trust by leaving Shadow and Karen in her and Falcon's care._

_So when the guards had seen the foxes and tried to hurt them Astrid didn't even have to think about it before distracting them and allowing Falcon to take the cubs away._

_Unfortunately the only thing she could think of to distract them at the time was to throw rocks at them. This was exactly why she was in this situation now. Running away from angry guards and dodging pointy objects._

_She was going to kill Bright eyes for this._

_Unfortunately her luck at avoiding multiple projectiles didn't last long, and the pain caused by the cut on her arm made her lose concentration and fall over._

_Yep, Bright eyes was defiantly going to regret raising those fur balls._

_Just as the guards were closing in there was a sudden blur and one of them was on the ground unconscious. Astrid already knew who it was, and sure enough when she looked up there was Bright eyes, standing tall with a determined look in his eyes._

_"Astrid, run now!"_

_Astrid wanted to protest, she really did, but looking in to his eyes she knew it was pointless. This was how it always was. Astrid, Flick or one of the other children who were being attacked by a guard, would be rescued by Bright eyes._

_Bright eyes didn't always help, sometimes he would already be too injured or the guards had him or he just didn't know what was going on. Most of the time Bright eyes would step in, he would fight or distract the guards while the person got away, and the guards would go after him._

_Turning and running like he'd told her to, Astrid couldn't help but look back. Bright eyes was fighting the guards and doing damage. Bright eyes was fighting so she could get away. Bright eyes was fighting to protect her._

_Bright eyes wouldn't be able to fight all of them of and eventually they would catch him and hurt him. Bright eyes knew all this and still helped her. By doing all this Bright eyes was willingly taking the injuries meant for her, just like he did with everyone else._

_And she just stood there watching, everyone else always watched, no one ever helped Bright eyes. For that she hated them, for that she hated herself._

_Making a decision and Running back to Bright eyes she blocked a kick aimed at his head, Astrid felt relived. Although she could sense Bright eyes reluctance as he changed his fighting style to accommodate her._

_Astrid knew that by the end of the night she would be in pain, that she would be bleeding and bruised and her presence would have made no difference to Bright eyes and his injuries. But she would no longer hate herself, and that would make it worth it._

_Sitting on a rock that led to the den where the cubs were sleeping Falcon had a clear view of what was going on. His very soul hurt to watch and every fibre in his body told him to protect his Pack leader and High female from what he knew would happen next._

_Yet he could not leave the cubs undefended, it was his duty to the pack to protect them while the others were gone. Stuck guarding the entrance yet desperately wanting to leave Falcon did the only thing he could, he asked for help._

_Throwing his head back and howling his plea to the sky so it could be heard further away, as every wolf knew. Falcon filled that howl with every ounce of feeling he had, echoing the pain his two pack mates would soon feel, in the hope that someone, anyone, would help them._

* * *

"What do you mean wait?" Naruto yelled.

Once they knew that Kai and Yukiko were alive Ibiki had gone into overdrive, trying to find out their locations as quickly as possible. The man had told them everything he knew about the mad house, including the location. Tsunade had ordered the mission not ten minutes later.

They were to go to the private land, which until then everyone had assumed was a rich man's mansion, they were to confirm the information about it being a fight base, and if it was they were to attack the guards and take control.

The mission said that they were to ensure the safe retrieval of the prisoners, since everyone agreed that those people were being kept prisoner by the guards, however everyone there knew that they would focus more on Kaisui and Yukiko then the others.

The village was still in repair and needed as many ninja as possible so there weren't as many people there as they wanted. But since no one was willing to wait they went anyway. Kakashi, Anko, Kurenai and Gai were all guaranteed to go because of their relationship with the children.

Naruto, who had been cornered by the other Konohe eleven, demanding to know why their senseis were acting weird, let the secret slip. Not long after Team Gai, Team Kurenai and Team Kakashi convinced Tsunade to let them go on the mission with their senseis, they were shortly followed Team Asuma, who wanted to stay near the mother of their sensei's son.

As well as them there were a few other Chunin who had been free at the time. Gaara had also wanted to come but had been persuaded not to due to his status as Kazakage. Gaara had still insisted that he stay in Konoha until they returned and that Temari and Kankuro went with them as representatives of Suna.

They had done everything possible to keep the mission secret encase the 'mad house' had spies in Konoha. They had practically crawled all the way there in order to make sure they weren't spotted and the 'mad house' warned of their approach.

And now when they were so close to their goal, now when they finally had proof that the man had been telling the truth. Now was when Shikamaru told them to wait.

"Be quiet Naruto, I mean wait we don't have a single plan and if we're going to do this without the prisoners being hurt then we need one" "Oh, hehe sorry Shikamaru, guess I'm just in a rush"

Shikamaru looked at him and sighed, clearly not surprised by this revelation. Naruto had already told them about his connection to Kaisui when they'd asked him why he was so upset.

"Never mind, okay guys this is the plan..." As Naruto listened to Shikamaru speak, he couldn't help but agree with the plan, then again his plans were always great. Looking to the sky Naruto whispered under his breath. "Don't worry Kai, I'll get you out of there if it's the last thing I do"

Suddenly a wolf's howl rolled across the clearing, it's voice filled with sorrow and a dying hope. The noise was almost enough to make them cry.

Almost unconsciously, every ninja there prepared to do whatever it took to save the people who they knew were suffering just as badly as the wolf.

* * *

Okay well I'm pretty sure this chapter was shit. I sought of know what to do after their rescued but can't figure out the actual rescue part. Very annoying. Oh well, there's nothing I can do, might as well just write whatever and choose the best one. If you have any ideas please tell me.


	8. Authors note

Hey. I am going on a 500 mile walk across Scotland during the holidays and will not be updating during that time! I've also been training for said walk which is why I haven't updated recently. Sorry about the wait, I'll start up again about a week after I get back.


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